Justice News

Lackawanna Woman Pleads Guilty To Distribution Of Crack Cocaine

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Charisma Royster, 25, of Lackawanna, NY, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, crack cocaine before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward H. White, who is handling the case, stated that on September 15, 2014, the defendant sold a quantity of crack cocaine to a confidential informant working with officers of the Lackawanna Police Department. Subsequent analysis confirmed the presence of crack cocaine.

Royster is one of 18 defendants arrested in a drug trafficking operation that included sales made in and near the Gates Housing Project in Lackawanna. She is the sixth defendant to be convicted. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Adam S. Cohen, Special Agent in Charge.